Chauffeurdriven vacations Ireland West and South west of Ireland 2017 with the experts.

My lovely holly tree, pictured in the sunshine in my garden. It really does make it feel like Christmas here.

One of our lovely comfortable touring cars pictured on the harbour front in Kinvara with the ancient Dun Guaire castle in the background. This is a family sized vehicle , also suitable for a golfing group. We cater for groups of varying sizes, from singles and couples, to family and larger sized groups.
We concentrate out touring on the western seaboard mainly, all the way along the Wild Atlantic way, the area i grew up in and love most of all. Our tours always allow for a couple of days in Dublin, if required, and also special requested visits to areas of special interest to our clients, such as areas with an ancestral history.The west, and south west is, for me, the most beautiful part of Ireland. This is an area which was devastated by our terrible famine, the area from which hundreds of thousands of people fled, mainly to the USA, in order to escape disease and hunger, an area blessed by the wonderful rugged Atlantic coastline, offshore islands, magnificent mountain ranges, quaint small towns and villages, where you can still listen to people speak our native Irish language, listen to their songs and their traditional music, and enjoy their Irish dancing, and sit in an Irish pub and enjoy a pint of Guinness with native people who will always make you feel very much at home.
Come and enjoy it with us.

I spent a good deal of time in the Killarney area over the Christmas, and i took this cute picture of a decorated horse with his jaunting car.

 My son was at home for the Christmas from Chicago, and here we are pictured together in the main street of Killarney, waiting for Santa to turn up with a little something for us.

 Another one of our happy groups who toured with us this Summer, pictured in front of their bus.

 The Gap of Dunloe in county Kerry is one of my own favourite areas. Not an area to drive through yourself, eventhough some people do. The roads are extremely narrow and dangerous, and, if you do drive, you miss out on the part of the journey where you travel down through the lakes in the open boats. By driving yourself you also put the lives of people traveling in the jaunting cars, at risk, along with your own.
In this picture, the horse is begining the journey to the Gap, an opening between the mountain tops which was carved by an ancient glacier in the ice-age.

 One of the bridges you cross on your way to the top.

 This horse looks like he is very happy to have reached the summit. the views from here are just breath-taking.

 Now, at last, on the way down through the lakes in the open boats, and on the way back to Killarney and Ross castle on Lough Laune.

 All happy together in the boat, and wrapped up in their life jackets. Not to worry, it is a very safe journey indeed.

 I just had to add this picture of this little baby donkey, just a couple of weeks old, and being well watched by Mom.

 One of the views of the many small lakes you pass as you look  back down from the Gap,

 Finally for today, the awesome Cliffs of Moher.
What more do you need to make you come to Ireland?
Just send us a message and we will take it from there. When you have the right people working with you on your plan, you can rest assured that all is well.

irish chauffeurdriven tours with Dovechauffeurdrive and Dave Hogan

 Was there ever a better time to come to Ireland?  We are now on the road to recovery, and a country at peace. For anybody planning to come here from the USA, the dollar is now very strong against the Euro, and there is tremendous value to be had here. There is no certainty that it will remain this way, so maybe now is the time for you to make that move. Maybe, like my friends in the above picture, you can enjoy a jaunting car ride through the Kerry mountains, on an ancient road, which was carved through those mountains by a giant glacier during the ice age.

 Maybe you would like to cuddle a lamb on the Dingle peninsula, like these two young ladies.

 How about spending time enjoying the views at the awesome Cliffs of Moher? There is so much to see and do here in this magical country.

You can travel in style with me in one of my cars, such as the one above. No worries about having to drive yourself on the "wrong side of the road", and a narrow winding road maybe. The cost of a tour with me just might surprise you, if you take into account the cost of hiring a car yourself, plus the cost of insurance, a charge that is very expensive on top of your car costs, and which many people forget, much to their cost. If you damage your car in any way, and lose your deposit, then you are really on a loser.
This is the time of the year when i begin to get many enquiries from prospective customers from the USA, and i can only handle so much. If you are serious about coming, then now is the time to make that enquiry. As long as i know that you are serious, i can hold dates until you make that final decision. I work only on a "First come, first served"basis, so i would advise one and all to start planning now.
All you have to do is write to me and we can take it from there. It costs nothing to make that enquiry, but it may cost a lot if you leave it too late.

Connemara and Mayo with the O'Malley's

Julie and Mike on the Quiet Man bridge in Connemara.

Julie, pictured wearing her late grandfather's cap, something she wanted to bring back to Ireland in his memory, and pick a special place to wear it. How nice.

The happy couple pictured at the Quiet Man cottage at Maam Cross.

Another lovely picture inside the cottage.

Well, i did have to get in on the act with my pals at Kylemore Abbey.

The famine memorial in the Delphi valley.

Not the best picture you will ever see of Croagh Patrick, but the clouds were covering its peak.

Pictured together at Roonagh harbour, with Clare Island on the horizon in the background, one of the safe havens of the great Pirate Queen,Grace O'Malley. Can we say Mike's Granny?

Pictured at the bottom of Croagh Patrick, with the tiny white image of St Patrick in the distance.

Pictured here at the memorial of the famine shop, outside Westport.

You cannot go far in Westport without coming across the O'Malley's.

The memorial to St Patrick in the heart of Westport town.

Seated together inside the Basicila in Knock, and seated in front of the beautiful main altar.

Inside the Shrine chapel, with the statues of the Knock vision in the background.

A lovely picture at the grotto in Knock. Julie is really showing off her beautiful Irish red hair in the lovely sunshine.

It was not as warm when we got to the Cliffs of Moher, but this couple know how to keep warm.

Another nice picture at the cliffs.

One of our final pictures at Quin Abbey near Ennis in county Clare.

O'Malleys on Ring of Kerry tour Nov 2016

 The beginning of a really fabulous day as we began our tour of the famous Ring of Kerry. Our first stop off was at the Killarney Golf Club, which is situated on the shores of Lough Leane, and here we have Mike and Julie, happy and rested, after a great night's sleep in the Killarney Plaza hotel.

 Pictured together near Killorglin, hoping that their rainbow can been seen in the background.

 Killorglin is famous for it's annual ancient pagan festival, known as Puck fair. This statue of the male goat, on the outskirts of Killorglin, a puck is male goat,was erected here to commemorate this festival.

 Unfortunately we had a touch of mist when i took this photo on the Ring, with Dingle bay and the Dingle peninsula in the background.

 One of our most famous patriots, the great Daniel O' Connell, was born here in Cahersiveen, and here we have my pals, pictured with the ruins of his home in the background.

 Waterville was one of Charlie Chaplin's favourite holiday resorts, and the people of this town were grateful for that, and erected this memorial in his memory.

 One of the greatest exponents of our national game of Gaelic football, a game quiet different from ordinary football, or soccer, as you can use your hands as well as your feet, was the great Micko O'Dwyer, and this memorial was erected by the townspeople in memory of their greatest son.

 This view from Cumikista, at the head of the Ring of Kerry, is quiet spectacular. Once again, due to mist, this picture does not do justice to the view, but Mike and Julie still look very happy to be here.

 Pictured together at Carrol's Cove near Cumikista. This bar on the beach is located in a really beautiful location and a great place for a snack or a beer.

 Another break, and a beer, in a great pub in Sneem.

 This man relies on the generosity of tourists to keep his magnificent goat, a puck goat, well fed and happy. It looks like my pals are also very happy to meet puck.

 Mike and Julie, pictured together at the famous Ladies View in Killarney. It was getting a little chilly, as you can see here.

Well, that is one of the best ways to warm up.

We did have a great day, but we were all glad to get back to Killarney, and the warmth of a good pub.
Tomorrow we are off to Dingle, so come along and enjoy.

O' Malley Irish tour 2016

 My tour with Mike and Julie O'Malley began in Cork this morning. We had met for the first time at breakfast at the hotel, and i knew from the start that this was going to be a lovely tour. They were so friendly, and excited about their Irish adventure.
Our journey today was to take us into West Cork, a beautiful rural area which was always a stronghold for Irish republicanism, and the birthplace of the famous Michael Collins, who was assassinated in this locality in a place called Beal na Blath.  In the picture above, we have Mike and Julie, standing at the memorial to this great patriot, who played a huge role in forcing the British to finally reach an agreement which was to return 26 of our 32 counties to the new Republic of Ireland in 1922. This led to Michael Collins death, as he was assissinated by his own Irish republican brothers, as they felt he had betrayed them by not holding out for the full 32 counties. Collins, and many more strong republicans, firmly believed that at that time there was no chance of the British giving any more, as they had been warned by the Unionists in the North of Ireland that they would go to war if Britain decided to force them into the new Republic, as they felt that they were British themselves.

 A cost free way to do your shopping. We pictured this lady in one of the many towns we passed through on our journey today.

 The town of Bantry is a very lovely town, and located right on the western side of Ireland, where Bantry Bay leads directly into the Atlantic with nothing left between us and the USA but that ocean to the west.

 Mike and Julie, pictured looking really happy together, with Bantry Bay in the background.

 Unfortunately, we had the odd shower of rain here and there today, and the dark cloud did nothing for the light in this picture of Mike and Julie on the hillside overlooking Bantry Bay.

Another lovely picture of the coast of Kerry as we made our way up the south coast on our way to Killarney, where we will be tonight. Note the lovely Fuchsia.
Tomorrow we are off on the famous Ring of Kerry, a journey around the Iveragh peninsula, starting and ending in Killarney town. Then on Friday we are touring Dingle, where we will be staying before moving on to Galway. Mike and Julie will be staying in Benners hotel in the centre of Dingle town, and i myself will be returning to a favourite place of mine, Pax House in Dingle also. I have very special memories of this place, my first time back there in some time.My last visit was very special and holds very special memories.

This was a really nice start to this tour, and our weather was very good for November, cool but not too cold, and only the odd shower or two as we travelled.
Make sure to follow along with us as we make our merry way around the south west of this beautiful country.